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Outdoor symposiums plentiful in coming months

Did you shoot a big buck this fall? If so, you might like to visit the Buckeye Big Bucks Club’s annual banquet and awards ceremony held this year at the Ashland University Convocation Center in on Feb. 11.

Outdoor symposiums plentiful in coming months

Did you shoot a big buck this fall? If so, you might like to visit the Buckeye Big Bucks Club’s annual banquet and awards ceremony held this year at the Ashland University Convocation Center in on Feb. 11. Tickets can be ordered online for $30 with children under 12 $20 and will be held at the door. The banquet will open with a scorer’s meeting at 12 p.m. followed by a general membership meeting, then a deer program update with dinner at 5:30 p.m. and an awards program to follow. Each year the club honors hunters who harvest “typical” deer which meet the minimum 140 inch scoring requirement, and “non-typical” deer which meet a minimum 160 inch scoring requiring. For more information, visit buckeyebigbucksclub.org/homepage.html.

Conservation camp to be in June

High school students who are interested in the outdoors are invited to the Ohio Forestry and Wildlife Conservation Camp on June 11-16 at FFA Camp Muskingum in Carroll County will learn to ID trees and wildlife, learn about insects, how to manage for wildlife, timber harvesting, and forest ecology. They’ll conduct stream sampling, hike through the woods, and monitor for wildlife. In free time, they can fish, swim, canoe, kayak, enjoy volleyball, and much more. Sign up at www.ohioforest.org.

Botanical symposium to be held in March

The ODNR Division of Natural Areas and Preserves will hold its 2017 Ohio Botanical Symposium from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 24 at the Villa Milano Banquet and Conference Center in Columbus. The conference will cover the flora of Great Lakes alvars, geology and flora of a meteorite crater in southwest Ohio, and the status of our eastern deciduous forest. The event also features a media show and displays from a number of private and public conservation organizations. Registration is now open with more information at 2017 Ohio Botanical Symposium.

Clay shooting competition being held

The Ohio State High School Clay Target League invites Buckeye schools to join the league, a provider of shooting sports as an extracurricular co-ed and adaptive activity to high schools. Young trap shooters in grades six through 12 who have earned a league-issued firearms education certificate practice can compete weekly in spring in a “virtual” competition against other schools throughout Ohio. Shooting practice and competition are conducted at a shooting range near the school’s location and individual and team scores are submitted and compared online against other schools within their conference. For more details visit ohclaytarget.com.

Fishing expo to be Feb. 10-12

Readers are reminded that the Columbus Fishing Expo will be held Feb. 10-12 at the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus. There will be 155,000 square feet of tackle, gear, boats, and more along with door prizes and giveaways each day. The event offers over 100 seminars on five stages, a new kids zone, the great American fish fry, a kayak demo pool and fly fishing demonstrations. For details, see www.ColumbusFishing Expo.com.

Coyote hunting and trapping workshop to be held

Would-be coyote hunters shouldn’t miss a free coyote hunting and trapping workshop in Findlay on Jan. 31. Wildlife experts will cover very basic topics such as life history, calling techniques, appropriate firearms and ammunition and trapping techniques The workshop will be from 6 p.m. to 8:30 at the Division of Wildlife District Two office, 952 Lima Ave., Findlay, OH 45840. To register, call 419-424-5000.

Dick Martin is a retired biology teacher who has been writing outdoor columns for 30 years. You can reach him at richmart@neo.rr.com.